


The Tail of a Cold Night

by theeducatedfish



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-13
Updated: 2013-05-13
Packaged: 2017-12-11 18:29:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/801811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theeducatedfish/pseuds/theeducatedfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a freezing night where Jake seems to be on the brink of death from the cold, Erisolsprite is not simply the heartless, broken bastard as he is perceived.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tail of a Cold Night

**Author's Note:**

> This was in fact, written by my girlfriend. I'm just uploading it for her because she doesn't have an account yet. Any messages or comments will be happily passed on by me c:

It was a freezing night, and huddled under a slab of rock that gave next to no shelter from the elements, Jake was almost unable to move with coldness. While he couldn’t see much due to the rain anyway, his vision was made even worse by the fact that his glasses had completely frozen up. All he could see when looking through them were tiny intricate patterns the ice had created, and despite it’s beauty, it meant he could only just about see as far as his hand. It was now that he started to seriously regret wearing shorts. His legs had gone numb from the temperature, but although Jake couldn’t move them or feel them, he did feel an enormous pain, especially in his toes. The boy had read about frostbite many times, and it had occurred countless times in all the films he watched, so he knew what he was up against.  
But what could he do? He could barely blink, let alone move his fingers enough to type a message or a phone number. Even if he could move, he doubted there would be signal in this weather. He didn’t even entertain the thought of finding a more sheltered place. For one thing, underneath his rock was about as much protection as he was going to get. His world didn’t exactly offer much in the way of safety from extreme temperatures such as this. Plus, he had already established he couldn’t move. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. They froze immediately. Jake was so scared. What if he really was going to die out here? 

Across the valley, Erisolsprite wasn’t having a great time either. His scarf offered a shred of warmth, but when faced with such weather, it felt more like a weight against his neck. Oh why hadn’t this weather killed him yet? If his lips hadn’t been stuck together he would have sighed loudly. Well, if he wasn’t going to die, he might as well make some effort to stay alive. His logic didn’t really make sense when he thought about it, but Eridan had suggested it to him inside his head, and it was far too cold and miserable to bother arguing back. Everyone knows you need to keep moving to stay warm, so just fly onwards. Who knows? You might find something to shelter under.  
So the sprite did just that. His tail seemed to have frozen up, but he could still float despite it. In the rain it was impossible to tell where he was or where he was going, but after what seemed like hours of aimlessly flying, he chanced upon something that looked vaguely familiar. He squinted against the rain pouring down his glasses to make out the shapes. Of course! They were the boulders Jake always sat on. Where was that kid anyway?  
Hopefully he’2 doiing better than me.  
That’s when his ears picked up the sound of a human voice. 

‘Eri—sol—sprite?’ Jake choked out the words through his chapped lips. They were blue, much like the rest of his body. He was in shorts, and Erisol could see his legs were in a terrible state. Black it seemed. His glasses were completely frozen, the boy must be almost completely blind right now. His eyes certainly lacked life. The sprite was sure Jake couldn’t see a thing. There were frozen tears on his cheeks. The human slowly moved his hand towards where Erisolsprite was. He reached out and took Jake’s hand. His fingers were frozen in place. Moving his hand even that little distance must have taken a lot.  
‘Old—chap, you’ve got to- get out of here… you’ll—die…’ 

Jake had almost given up even trying to survive when he saw it. The shape looked familiar. He knew it was Erisolsprite. He knew that tail, the way it curled, and he knew the shape of the horns, and even against the rain he could see his scarf- just. Erisol flew closer.  
‘‘Eri—sol—sprite?’ It was an enormous struggle to say his name, but the sprite seemed to have heard him. The boy reached out to him slowly. He took Jake’s hand, and the human could feel his warm blood against his cold skin. The sprite rubbed some feeling into the dead hand slowly but surely, until the human could move his fingers enough to cling on tight.  
‘Old—chap, you’ve got to--- get out of here… you’ll—die…’ He couldn’t let his friend get taken by the weather too. ‘Fly—upwards, into the…sky. It’s calm—above the clouds. You’ll be--- safe.’ 

No. There was no way Erisolsprite was leaving. Jake was at deaths door, and although he may be annoying at times, the sprite did care for him. After all, he was the only person who could bear to talk to him, and no matter how much the sprite was rude, offensive, unkind and grumpy to him he still stuck around.  
‘IIm not goiin. II may not liike you but iim not about to let you diie. Here, take thii2.’  
Erisol took off his scarf and carefully wrapped it around Jake’s legs. It was long as far as scarves go, and maybe that would save him from the frostbite. The human tried to protest but he simply didn’t have the strength. He couldn’t even talk any more. His eyes had closed, but his hand remained clutching Erisolsprite’s. With his free hand the sprite searched for a pulse. His heart was still beating, but barely so. He didn’t have much time if he wanted to live. But what else could Erisol do? Inside his head, Eridan yelled:  
WWRAP YOURE TAIL AROUND HIM! YOU MIGHT AS WWELL MAKE USE OF IT, AND IT WWILL KEEP HIM A LOT WWARMER THAN IF YOU JUST LEAVVE HIM AS HE IS! TRUST ME I KNOWW, FEFS LUSUS USED TO DO IT TO HER WWHEN SHE WWAS COLD!  
Not a bad idea Ampora. Quickly Erisol wrapped his tail around Jake, making sure he was snuggled tightly in it, and that his legs were especially well-covered. There, that should give him an extra bit of warmth. He also put his arm around the dying boy, breathing hot air on his face in an attempt to warm him up. Jake stirred slightly, but didn’t wake. It didn’t matter though, just along as he was alive. The rain was still lashing against the sprite’s body, and the wind froze it soon after. Screwing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth, he hugged Jake tight and waited for the storm to end. 

When Jake came to, he found he was still unable to move. Not from coldness however, from Erisolsprite’s tail! Looking around him (his glasses had unfrozen), the boy could see the storm was gone. The feeling had returned to his legs, and it didn’t seem as if he had lost any of his toes. He slowly licked his lips. There were extremely chapped and when his tongue touched them they flared up in pain. One of his hands was a lot warmer than the other. Why was he wrapped in Erisol’s spritely tail anyway? His eyes followed it until he was face to face with his friend. He was sleeping, his mouth slightly parted and his chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. The boy could feel the air on his cheek when the sprite breathed out. One of his hands was holding Jake’s, and his other arm was wrapped around his shoulders. Looking down, he saw that Erisol’s scarf was wound tightly around his legs. The question was, why? Jake tried to remember what had happened last night, when the storm was still raging. Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember anything after Erisol had first appeared. He had told him to leave and then…  
It was no use. Jake racked his brains, but he simply couldn’t fathom any vague memory past that point. Looks like his friend was going to have to fill him in.  
It was wonderfully cosy and warm curled up with the sprite. He felt a huge sense of security- of safeness. The boy had never really pondered what Erisol felt like, but it appeared his tail was just normal skin, exactly the same as his upper body. No scales, no fur, just warm soft skin pressing against Jake’s. He glanced at his trusty wristwatch, which had survived the storm. It was still early morning, and even if Jake had very little memory of the past night’s events, he could be sure that the storm had raged on all night. The sky was still dark and there was a cool wind blowing, making the rain-covered grass shiver.  
Erisol must have had to brave the storm. He would probably sleep for a lot longer, but Jake didn’t mind. After all, that storm was horrendous, and it was bound to tire the sprite out.  
‘You know…’ English murmured to nobody in particular. ‘I wouldn’t mind having another little nap myself, and it is still rather early…’ His voice trailed off and his shoulders slumped as he fell into a dreamless sleep once again

Erisolsprite’s eyes snapped open. Eridan and Sollux were fighting again. He groaned. It was way too early for this shit. He closed his eyes and produced the loudest, most horrifying mental scream he could muster, a trick he had picked up along the way. It worked, but soon their shouts were replaced with complaints of being given a headache. The sprite told them to shut up, or else next time it would be Feferi’s scream they’d hear. They both fell silent immediately. Erisol breathed a sigh of relief. He had to be tough with those two, but secretly there was no way he could bring himself to hear Fef’s voice again, especially not in that way. It was just an idle threat to make them stop.  
Now that all was quiet in his mind, he could focus on what was happening on the outside. Jake was awake it seemed, and looking at him with the funniest smile. His teeth stuck out and his eyes shone merrily. Erisol still had his tail wrapped around the human, and he was still holding his hand. The sprite could feel himself blushing. Oh, why did Jake have to be so cute?  
Angrily, he pushed his glasses up his nose, hoping to cover the lime green on his cheeks. Jake leaned into Erisolsprite’s body, closing his eyes and humming softly. He didn’t recognise the tune, but it was pretty, making the sprite feel calm. Clearly the human was alive and well, and hadn’t caught frostbite. Looks like his scarf did the trick. His neck felt awfully exposed without it though, he was so used to the feel of material on skin. He couldn’t exactly get it back without flipping Jake into the air however, due to the clothing being wrapped around his legs tightly.  
Suddenly, the human leapt up, an enormous smile on his face. Clearly he had forgotten about the scarf though, because before he could speak he toppled over, crashing into Erisol rather forcefully. They ended up in a heap on the wet grass, Jake laughing and the sprite yelling.  
‘Oh boy, sorry about that Mister Erisol! I had completely forgotten that your scarf was around my legs!’  
‘GET OFF ME!’  
‘I’m trying! Plus, your tail is still wrapped around me!’  
‘IIt’2 tangled iin my 2carf!’  
Erisol floated upwards, so to get out from underneath the laughing boy. He (gently) pushed him over, and bent down to examine the knot that was him and his scarf. At closer inspection it was simple to undo, and in no time the sprite had his scarf back and Jake could walk again. Just as he was fixing his scarf, the human ran into him, hugging him tightly.

Jake felt the sprite stiffen as he embraced him, but he was certain he was blushing.  
‘Thank you ever so much for saving me! I nearly died out there last night, but you came to my rescue!’  
‘II only diid iit becau2e everyone hate2 me enough a2 iit ii2, ii can’t havve you dyiin or they’ll all blame me!’  
‘Everyone doesn’t hate you!’  
‘Wwhatevver Jake, ju2t 2TOP HUGGIIN ME.’  
‘No!’  
Erisol grumbled, but then awkwardly hugged the boy back. 

It felt nice, being in someone else’s arms. Erisolsprite had never been hugged before.


End file.
